Shawna Kenney is the author of Imposters (Mark Batty Publisher) and I Was a Teenage Dominatrix (Last Gasp). She teaches creative writing online and has covered arts and pop culture for Swindle Magazine, Juxtapoz, AP and the Indianapolis Star, among others.

Heidi Minx’s tattoo-inspired clothing and styles have been featured by Spencer’s Gifts and peta2, on snowboards, guitars and the bodies of rock musicians worldwide, but lately the New York-based merchandising maven has her designs on matters of the heart. After working with Tibetan refugees in India last year, Minx launched the nonprofit organization, Built on Respect, enlisting grassroots support from bands such as Pennywise, Sick of It All, Channel 3 and the Cro-Mags along the way. When in India, Minx shares her business savvy by working with the Tibet Hope Center, Jamtse in Action, and the Institute of Tibetan Thangka Art; back home her goal is to educate anyone interested and “make…

A conversation with the author of Sit Down and Shut Up: Punk Rock Commentaries on Buddha, God, Truth, Sex, and Death...

In his new book Sit Down and Shut Up, former Zen Buddhist priest Brad Warner breaks the teachings of Dogen Zenji down into manageable chunks of lively text, heavy with pop culture references. (This is, after all, the author of Hardcore Zen: Punk Rock, Monster Movies, and the Truth About Reality). Part memoir, part primer on Buddhism, Sit Down and Shut Up… is obviously the manifestation of many hours of reflection and a lifetime of questioning.
Long before becoming a Zen monk, Warner played bass in the early-80′s Ohio punk band, Zero Defects. These two seemingly unrelated states-of-being somehow make perfect sense when Warner takes us on the journey home for his band’s big 20-year reunion show, quoting

CBGBs closed for good this year. Despite financial help from its famous friends, the legendary New York nightclub finally lost a long legal battle with its landlord, the Bowery Residents Committee (a non-profit homeless advocacy group).
CBGB spawned the likes of the Ramones, Television, the Talking Heads, Blondie and many others in the 70s, the stage a veritable pulpit for famous and infamous, including Joey Ramone, often called a “prophet from Queens.” Much of my teenage life was spent at the all-ages hardcore matinees of the 80s. My friends and I drove the four hours up from DC many Sundays, where we gathered in the graffiti-and-sticker-covered space to sing at the feet of our saviors—bands whose names…